


you belong somewhere you feel free

by sexbangs



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Anxiety, Dysphoria, Gen, Gender Dysphoria, Haircuts, Lots Of Head Patting, Misgendering, Rick Is A Good Grandpa, Trans Morty Smith, Trans Rick Sanchez, Transgender, deadnaming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-26 14:10:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12559108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sexbangs/pseuds/sexbangs
Summary: Morty realizes he’s transgender and is terrified and needs to tell someone. His grandfather Rick who recently moved back in with his family is the only person home. What could go wrong?





	you belong somewhere you feel free

**Author's Note:**

> this takes place pre pilot for rick and morty :-) enjoy!
> 
> title taken from wildflowers by tom petty

Morty usually walked home with Summer, but today Summer stayed late after school to retake a history test she’d missed, so Morty walked the seven block walk home alone. He wasn’t scared to walk home alone, he actually liked to be alone. It helped him clear his mind, which he really needed recently.

He held tight to his backpack straps, mulling over this change he’d decided to finally acknowledge. There was something about calling himself ‘he’ that was so relieving but also made him feel immensely guilty.

Morty had grown up as one of the Smith girls, Summer’s baby sister, the baby girl of the family. He felt sick thinking about how much of a disappointment he must be. He never felt like a girl and when he found the term ‘transgender’ thrown around on a Minecraft server he frequented, he found something that fit.

Morty sighed and pushed some of his long frizzy hair out of his eyes. He hated his hair. He hated how his sigh sounded so feminine. A part of him wished he didn’t feel like this - that he could just feel like a girl and not have to deal with it. He fumbled through the pockets of his backpack as he approached the house, swearing under his breath when he realized Summer had taken his set of keys over the weekend and didn’t ever give them back.

Morty went up to the garage and decided to use the code to ope the garage door his dad had taught him once. He punched in the code, annoyed and feeling sick with himself. The garage door began to open and Morty scuffed the ground with his shoe. When he looked up, some type of sci-fi looking gun was pointing straight at him, his grandpa Rick on the other end.

“Oh,” Rick lowered the gun. “I-it’s just you, Abigail.”

“Hi, Rick.”

Rick was a lanky man with grey, almost blue, hair that stuck in every direction off his head. Morty rarely saw him eat and constantly caught him sneaking drinks out of a shiny metal flask. He was a stereotypical caricature of a mad scientist, in Morty’s opinion, and he didn’t know exactly what to make of that. Rick had shown up about a month ago with nothing but the lab coat on his back and his cocky attitude. He called Morty by his full birthname, not Abi, like everyone else, and seemed to not like anyone in the family other than Beth, who he barely tolerated.

Morty didn’t know if he liked him.

He was pretty sure Rick didn’t like him. Morty wasn’t completely sure why Rick had left his mom specifically, but he wished sometimes he had stayed gone. Because of Rick, Morty had to move to the smallest bedroom in the house. He had heard his mother crying more often.

“Where’s your - your sister? A-actually, I don’t care.” Rick shook his head and let out a burp before he returned to what he was working on. From the looks of it, it was some sort of misshapen spaceship make out of scrap metal and junk. “Y-you gonna stand there and - and stare all day?”

Morty came inside and Rick closed the garage door behind him. Morty watched as his grandfather slid himself under the spaceship on a creeper that was really just a skateboard, presumably to work on an engine.

With Rick under the ship, Morty sat on the stool in the garage, sighing. He awkwardly chewed at his lip before saying. “Rick? I-I — I wanna tell you something.”

This could be like practice. Rick wouldn’t care, he didn’t listen most of the time when Morty spoke anyways. It was like talking to a brick wall, but Morty would much rather come out to a brick wall that could just tell him to leave him alone than one that wouldn’t react at all.

“I—“ Rick paused to burp, “don’t care.”

Perfect.

“I-I feel weird,” Morty started. “I don’t — I don’t feel right. It’s like my - my skin’s too tight on my body a-a-and it’s not just my skin. It’s my entire body. I—“ Morty felt himself starting to tear up. He was confused about why he was getting so frustrated and couldn’t just say it. “I feel like my body is-isn’t right. I hate my body. I-I hate my voice and - and my u-ugly long hair and—“ Morty covered his eyes as big tears started streaming out. “I-I’m a boy. I want to-to be a boy, I wish I had been born a boy, I ha-hate mys—“ Morty fell silent into a choked sob when he felt Rick’s hand on his head. He tried to wipe his eyes quickly and compose himself.

“Slow down,” Rick said. His hand stayed on Morty’s head, an awkward attempt at comfort.

“I-I’m scaring mys-myself.”

Morty looked up at Rick with wet eyes. He watched with bated breath as Rick contemplated how to respond.

Finally, Rick said, “You-you’re transgender, aren’t you?”

Morty broke.

“Hey, h-hey, hey, hey, hey,” Rick grabbed Morty’s shoulders to try and stop his crying. “Listen to me. Listen to me, w-would you?”

Morty wiped his eyes and tried to take deep breaths, despite how fast his heart was hammering in his chest. He didn’t want this. He hated himself for putting Rick through this and for feeling the way he did. Morty wished he could go back in time and stop himself from ever telling Rick, maybe even stop himself from logging onto his computer the day he learned the word transgender.

“It’s okay.” Rick said. “You - you really sh-shouldn’t be so hard on - on yourself.” He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “S-so you’re transgender. There are infinite amounts of genders in th-the universe — who gives a shit if - if you’re a guy. Big whoop.”

“Jeez, Rick, I-I pour my heart out an-and—“

“Listen. You’re not alone in-in being a guy the way you are.” Rick said, his hand going back to Morty’s head. “I’m trans.”

Morty startled back. “B-but you—“

“I was just like you wh-when I was younger. I didn’t—“ he burped and interrupted himself, “I didn’t want to feel the way I did. Look - look at me now. No one w-would guess I’m trans and - and that’s the way I want it.”

“How?” Morty asked, voice broken.

“I’m amazing.”

Morty looked at Rick, unamused.

“Real answer? Time. Science. Hormones, money, a-and a lot of patience.” Rick patted Morty’s head.

They were both quiet, then. Morty crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at the concrete floor of the garage where his tears had fallen. Rick kept his hand on Morty’s head before his hands ghosted down his hair to the tips that hung beyond his shoulders.

“I could cut this for you.”

So Rick did.

The garage floor was strewn with Morty’s curly hair after about fifteen minutes. The short hair left on Morty’s head barely curled behind his ears.

“Thanks, Rick.”

“Don’t mention it.” Rick said, handing Morty a broom. “So. I-is it still Abigail?”

“No.” Morty said, his voice a little too sharp. He stood and began to sweep. He stared at his feet as his hair was swept into a little pile.

“Th-then what’s your new name, you little turd?”

“Morty.”

“Morty. That’s got a - a good ring to it, Morty. I approve.” Rick nodded. “Rick and Morty. That’s good. Rick and Morty a-against Jerry and Beth at dinner. Y-you do realize you’ll have to tell them. Es-especially because I just fuckin’ kamikaze’d your hair.”

“Th-that’s a little insensitive, Rick.”

Rick looked ready to respond when both of them turned suddenly as the door that connected the garage to the house opened and Beth stuck her head in.

“Rick, have you seen—“ Beth’s eyes went wide. “Abi, your hair!”

“Mom, I-I can explain...”

“I hate to say this,” Rick cut in, “but we sh-should save this for when - when Jerry’s home. It’s important.”

Rick put a hand on Morty’s head and Morty knew it would be okay.

It was going to be Rick and Morty against the world.

**Author's Note:**

> a lil thing based on a headcanon emma (ilovericksanchez666 on tumblr) and i were talking about where morty comes out to rick first. 
> 
> please leave a kudos and a comment if you enjoyed!


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